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No. 749,912. PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904. .W. N. APPLETODL' CHAIN MAKER'S POWER HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. 1903.

K0 MODEL.

Patented January 19, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALLACE N. APPLETON, OF KEN-T, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE L. DARROVV, OF DARROWVILLE, OHIO.

CHAIN-MAKERS POWER-HAMMER- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,912, dated J anuary 19, 1904.

A Application filed July 6, 1903. Serial'No. 164,400. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WALLACE N. APPLETON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Kent, in the county of Portage and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chain-Makers Power-Hammers, of which the following is a-complete specification.

My invention has relation to power-hammers for use in welding and shaping links used in making a chain; and it has for its objects the production of a simple, light-running, and easily-controlled hammer for the welding of links which go to make up a chain.

One of the objects sought to be achieved by this invention is to produce a hammer wherein the power necessary to raise the hammer to an altitude sufficiently high to produce a given stroke shall be reduced to aminimum.

A second object is to provide means whereby the power which is used to raise the hammer shall run constantly at all times and the mechanism'necessary to throw the hammer into operation shall be so simple and easily actuated that a comparatively light efiort is necessary to achieve this object.

A third object is to so place the controlling mechanism of the hammer that at all times the hammer when it ceases its operation shall avoiding thereby the half-stroke common in ordinarily-constructed power-hammers used for this class of work. As heretofore constructed hammers used for this purpose are generally thrown into operation by a squarejawed clutch, which is thrown into and out of gear only by a very powerful effort on the part of the operator, and when these clutches take hold, causing the movement of the hammer, it frequently happens that the length of the first stroke will be short, as the hammer maybe suspended only a portion of its full stroke above the dies, and the first stroke will only be a light one, where it should. be a full powerful stroke, embodying the full strength of the hammer, in order to effect aworkmanlike job in welding the parts of the links together. This is accomplished in my device .by the fact that the only time that the hammer can release itself or be released by the operator is when the hammer is at the highest altitude above the dies which it can attain.

To the accomplishment of the aforesaid objects my invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction, arrangement, and "combination of parts hereinafter described, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings,

forming a part hereof.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference-numerals indicate like parts in the different figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved device with portions in section to better illustrate the construction thereof; and Fig. 2 a perspective view of one of the parts of the device, a more complete description of which follows later.

In the drawings, 1 is the base or foundation block of the device, which is bolted to the floor or any convenient place by suitable bolts. This base is preferably made hollow of castiron and of suflicient strength and rigidity to stand the stroke incident upon the operation of the hammer, to be described later. On top of the base 1 is the anvil-block 2, retained in place by bolts 3, passing through suitable portions of the anvil-block 2 into the base 1. In the upper surface of the anvil-block 2 is a die 4. In the right or extended ends of the anvilblock 2 is a pivot 5, supporting between them the hammer-helve 6.

In the front or head 7 of the hammer is a die 45. Between the die 4: and the die 45 is shown a link 8 of a chain 9, which is supposed to be in the process of construction. Extending from each side of the base 1 are two arms 10, extending substantially at an angle of about sixty degrees with the base 1, connected at their upper ends by a rod 11, around which is hooked the end of a spring 12, the other end of which is designed to fasten into the upper portion of the free extended end of the hamn1er-helve 6.

In the drawings only one of the arms 10 are shown to better illustrate the construction of the balance of the device.

The tendency of the spring 12 is to draw upward the end of the hammer-helve, to which it is attached, and consequently to force downward with great power the end 7, in which is contained the die 45. From the lower end of the base 1 and fastened thereto by bolts 13 extends horizontally a slotted bed-plate 14:, having on each of its sides adjacent to the base 1 inclined boxes or journal-bearings 15, one of which is omitted in the drawings to better illustrate the construction of the remainder of the device. Extending between the boxes 15 is a cross-shaft 16, from which extends a tongue or lever 17, whose outer end is free to swing vertically and to be influenced by mechanism to be hereinafter described.

Depending from either side of the free end of the hammer-helve 6 are two straps or vertical links 18 19 one of which, 19, is shown as broken off to better illustrate the construction of the rest of the device, as its presence there in full would tend to obscure portions which it is deemed necessary to illustrate. Where these two links 18 19 are connected with the lever 17, they are simply fastened by an ordinary pivot-bolt 20. The means by which the upper ends of the straps 18 19 are attached to the hammer is as follows:

An inclined slot 21 is cut in the end of the hammer-helve 6, and in this is placed a squaresided horizontal shaft 22, having at either end round portions, over which the straps 18 19 pass and pivot. The position of the square portion of this cross-shaft 22 is determined by a set-screw 23, passing from outside of the end of the hammer-helve6 into the slot 21 and against the shaft 22. This set-screw 23 is locked in place by a lock-nut 24, so that it cannot become unintentionally altered in its position. The idea of this slot 21 is to permit the change of location of the upper end of the straps 18 19 with relation to the pivot of the hammer itself, and thereby produce a shorter or longer stroke of the hammer-helve in its operation, due to the fact that the motion of the vertically-swinging lever 17 is always the same, and the nearness and remoteness of the pivot extending between the upper ends of the straps 18 19 and the working pivot of the hammer-helve will cause a greater or less stroke thereof, due to this position of the pivot and the straps 18 19.

Mounted on either side of the bed-plate 14 are two housings 25, one only of which is shown, as the mechanism contained between them would be otherwise obscured to such an extent as to render the drawings unintelligible. Extending between the housings 25 is a shaft 26, mounted on the central portion of which is an eccentric cam 27. This cam 27 is tight on the shaft 26 and is intended to revolve therewith in a direction indicated by the arrow. On the opposite end of the shaft 26 is a pulley 28, designed to receive a belt, deriving power from any desired or preferred source, the nature of which is immaterial to this invention.

It is obvious that if power is applied to the pulley 28 in the direction of the arrow the revolution of the eccentric cam 27 will follow as a natural consequence, and its eccentric outer periphery will encounter the upper face of the free end of the lever 17 and press it downward gradually until it reaches the point of the greatest diameter of the cam 27, where the cam is abruptly cut away, allowing the lever 17 to suddenly spring upward, which permits the straps 18 19 to do likewise, and as a consequence the free end or head 7 of the hammer to swing downward with great force upon the die 4, which at this time is supposed to contain one end of a split chain-link heated to such a condition as to permit the ready welding thereof. This is facilitated and the force of the stroke largely augmented by the spring 12 pulling on the rear end of the hammer 6.

It is obvious, of course, from the foregoing description that as long as the cam 27 is caused to revolve with nothing to interrupt the upward stroke of the lever 17 the hammer will rise and fall in rapid succession as long as the revolution of the cam 27 is kept up.

As is well known, in the manufacture of chains and the use of a power-hammer of this general class it is absolutely necessary that the constant stroke of the hammer must cease during the time necessary to the replacing of fresh links in place and, further, this cessation of the operation of the hammer must take place when the hammer is at its upward stroke, so as to leave the dies free for the insertion of new work, and in order to accomplish this feature and to make the oscillatory motion of the hammer dependent upon the will of the operator 1 place on the free end of the lever 17 a catch 29. The free end of this catch is arranged to be inclined so as to be pressed inward in its descent by a latch consisting of a sliding bolt 30, mounted in a housing 31, sunk into the bed-plate 14 and held there by any preferred means. This latch 30 is made square in cross-section at the points where it passes through the housings 31 and between the sides of the housing, and at the outer end is cylindrical. On the outer end of this latch I place two lock-nuts 32, whose object is to limit and accurately determine the position of the front or working edge of this latch 30 and maintain its position when once determined. Between the end walls of the housing 51 and surrounding the latch 30 is a coiled spring 33, whose object is to force forward or to the left the latch 30. Surrounding the front or left end of the latch 30 is a trigger 34, (better shown in perspective in Fig; 2,) the latch 30 passing through the slotted opening 35. Immediately to the right of the trigger 34 and extending on either side of the latch 30 are two pins 36, whose object is to engage the rear or back face of the trigger when it is moved, so as to press backward the latch 30 against the influence of the spring 33. .The lower end of this trigger 30 is bifurcated and straddles a long vertically-rocking lever 37, pivoted at about the point 38 and whose left end extends through the base 1 and terminating outside thereof is provided with a step or treadle 39. Within the hollow of the base 1 is a vertical spring 40, whose influence is to raise the outer or left end of the lever 37, and

consequently depressing the right end of the lever, which bears the trigger 34. The upper front end of the trigger 34 is bifurcated sufficiently to permit the passage between its side arms of the outer end of the cam 27; but it has extending across between these arms below the reach ofthe cam 27 a cross-rod 41 for a purpose to be stated.

Pivoted between ears 42 on the rear upper end of the housing 31 is a catch 43, so placed as to engage the cross-rod 41 when the trigger is swung backward on its pivot on the lever 37.

The operation of the device is as follows: Supposing the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the cam is revolved in.

the direction of the arrow, it presses down upon the free end of the lever 17 and gradually increases this depression of the end ofv the lever 17 until that portion of the cam 27 having the greatest diameter passes the lever 17, by which time the catch 29 has passed downward and snapped under the latch- 30, which then retains the lever 17 in that position and with the hammer-head 7 raised to its highest point until the stroke of the hammer is required by the operator, and of course during this time the cam is revolved rapidly in a direction indicated by the arrow and is running free from contact with the lever 17, by reason of the fact that the lever 17 is held down by the latch 30. The operator in order to bring the mechanism into operation presses down with his foot upon the treadle 39, thereby raising the right end of the lever 37 and the trigger 34. As the two upper sides of the trigger 34 pass upward on either side of the rapidly-revolving cam two pins 44, projecting from either side of the cam at its point of greatest diameter and in close juxtaposition to the abruptly incut portion thereof, encounter the two upward-projecting side arms of the trigger and press the entire trigger backward and out of the way of the pins 44 until the cross-bar 41 passes under the catch 43, which retains it backward in this position. The movement backward of the trigger forces back the latch 30 and presses the spring eration of the hammer he withdraws his foot from the treadle 39, which allows the righthand end of the lever 37 to descend to the position shown in the drawings and the latch 30 to assume its position, and at the next revolution of the cam 27 the end of the lever 17 will be forced downward and the catch 29 reengage the latch 30, which will be continued until the workman again places his foot upon the treadle 39. The lowering of the position of the trigger 34, due to the withdrawal of the operators foot from the treadle 39, pulls the cross-rod 41 from engagement with the catch 43. From this it will be seen that the hammer will always stop at its highest upward stroke, and the first stroke when the hammer is put into operation will be a fall or full stroke from its highest altitude, anobjectgreatly sought by users of power-hammers of this description.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with an anvil-block suitably supported provided with pivots therein, of an oscillatory hammer-head mounted on said pivots, links attached to the helve of said hammer, a rocking lever attached to the lower end of said links, a cam to depress said lever, a catch on the end of said lever arranged to normally engage a latch and be thereby retained in one position, a latch suitably placed to engage said catch and means to release said latch from engagement with said catch to permit the descent of said hammer.

2. The combination with an anvil-block suitably supported provided with pivots, of an oscillatory hammer-head, links adj ustably attached to the helve portion thereof, a rocking lever attached to the lower ends of said links, a cam to depress the end of'said lever, a catch on the end of said lever, a spring-pressed latch to engage said catch and retain said lever in one position, a foot-lever suitably mounted in said device; a trigger mounted on said foot-lever having a bifurcated head arranged to engage said latch, projecting pins on said cam to engage said bifurcated end'of said trigger arranged when said foot-lever is operated toengage said trigger and disengage the union between said latch and catch and permit the de scent of said hammer.

3. The combination with an anvil-block suit; ably supported provided with pivots of a hammer arranged to oscillate on said pivots, links attached to the helve portion of said hammer, a rocking lever attached to the lower ends of said links, a cam for rocking said lever, a catch on the end of said lever, a latch suitably mounted to engage said catch to retain said lever in one position, a foot-lever suitably mounted in said device, a trigger mounted on said foot-lever provided with a head of such configuration as to engage tripping mechanism on said cam, tripping means mounted on said cam arranged to revolve therewith, a catch to engage said trigger and retain it in one position after being actuated by said tripping means on said cam and retain said trigger free from engagement with said tripping mechanism during the depression of said foot-lever.

In testimony that I claim the above I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WALLACE N. APPLETON.

itnesses:

( r. L. DARRoW, U. E. .HUMPHREY. 

